I just got up from a direly needed sleep. I'd been up for entirely too long, first for happy fun hanging out time, then because Noelle really, really needed some emotional support. I helped as best I could, mainly by being there in the way I would have wanted someone to be there for me; we have enough similarities for that to work pretty well.

She was feeling balanced enough by last night to meet doombuggie, who came by chez Noelle for a bit. To my relief and delight, they got along very well, enough that all three of us might hang out on occasion. Having two such dear friends of mine hit it off felt wonderful. doombuggie also took a picture of me holding Nathaniel for blackmail purposes, but he's a fine one to talk, he put the larva's bottle back in his mouth after he spit it out (certainly a Nathaniel trick, I am guessing a baby trick in general).

And oh, oh, oh god it was good to get home. Flopped on the bed and popped on the sleep-inducing-est i-Dosers, which actually worked really well, I feel pretty rested. I also got some wonderful cuddles from Anya, the sort of loving kitty cuddles that can make you feel, at least briefly, that all is right with the world. I'll probably nap more in a couple of hours, but for right now, I am okay.

Noelle's larva is teething already! Noelle and Jimi are kind of at a loss. Anyone got any advice on soothing teething babies?

Another all-nighter at Noelle and Jimi's. Much housework being done. I held the baby for, seriously, two and a half hours while they were doing some hardcore cleaning. It was interesting and kinda weird. Jimi took over when it was diaper change and burping time so it was fine by me. Went with Noelle to her appointment with her new primary care physician. The guy sounds like a real asshole, poor Noelle. From what she told me, if I'd been in the exam room with her I'd have gone off on him. Jimi's had his spate of ill-fortune as well, he dropped his laptop and broke the screen. Sucky as hell, he spent a bunch of time rigging it up to a monitor so it'd be useable. Thankfully they had a spare!

Summertime and hot as hell so whenever I am not being social (online or off) I am usually sleeping. As noted in my recent entries, I have been hanging out with Noelle a lot, with and without her boyfriend Jimi and usually with their baby, who is fun to snuggle when he is happy and reinforces my life choices when he cries. Haven't hung with doombuggie for a bit, hopefully that will change soon. An Epoch run would be nice, as long as it is late enough at night that it is cooled off!

I don't remember if I mentioned, Noelle cut the mats out of Anya's hair for me while I held her down. The trimmed look suits her, actually. She looks so much smaller! And it has got to be cooler.

Oh! Plans are afoot for rehd_fawx to visit! I am looking very much forward to this. Bits of Austin will be seen. It will be nice.

Horrified realization last night.

I can recognize Nathaniel crying as opposed to "random crying baby".

I'm Auntie Lanta all right.

Noelle got me out of the house last night and we went for Mexican food, which was a good thing since I hadn't eaten for like 36 hours and was having trouble getting up the enthusiasm to eat anything that was in the house. But fajitas, yum! And when we stopped into Fry's so she could tell her brother something, we went to look at cordless phones for me and found a nice GE model that usually goes for $30 on sale for $10. Score! But. THE CASHIER ASKED IF I WAS NOELLE'S MOM. Holy fucking crap. I'm only 12 years older than she is.

After that, a friend of hers in Del Valle needed a ride to the store so we headed that way and OMG. One of the friend's cats (a sweet and pretty black and white kitty that was either a Manx or a Japanese Bobtail) had kittens! Tiny kittens. Eyes barely open. They were both black and white, one had a regular tail and the other a bobbed one. They made little meeping sounds and Mama Kitty was all attentive and cuddled them, and I saw one nurse for a little bit and finally got to see that kneading thing it its true context! Oh, my heart just melted. I'd never seen such wee kittens in person. I gave Mama Kitty some pets, but didn't try to touch the babies. One of Noelle's friend's other cats was super-affectionate, and I got some cuddles and kisses, which is always wonderful, and friend's roomate was watching Warehouse 13, which both Noelle and I found interesting enough in the few minutes we caught that we intend to scope it out later.

The WalMart we went to was a real ghetto one. I wasn't feeing well (cramps, and my sleep patterns had been screwy the past few days) and the just ARRRGGGHHness of scummy WalMart had me really on edge. Noelle got to see me glare at a two year old (he was touching my soda!) which amused her. She also showed far more forebearance than I would have when the people behind us went from "awwww"ing over Nathaniel to touching his feet and moving his bottle. I would have fucking flipped my shit.

When we dropped Noelle's friend off and went in so Noelle could change baby's diaper and feed him some more, roommate was watching Doctor Who (the most recent Christmas special) so I had something to watch while babytending was happening. Roomie and I chatted about Doctor Who a little but not much since this was the first time he'd seen the Christmas Special.

Ok, gonna nap a little more... a trip to Sekret October is supposed to happen later.

I certainly don't have the budget or inclination to shower Nathaniel with gifts, but I'd like to get him one especially cute thing to wear. My sort of especially cute, which fortunately will meet Noelle and Jimi's approval. So I've been poking around, mostly on eBay and Etsy. But I am indecisive and was hoping the lovely lot of you on my flist might have advice about which would be the best new addition to the larva's wardrobe.


Gothic Skull Faced Pant With Leather & Chains Pros: Noelle likes them, by the time they fit him it will be pants weather. Cons: He'll probably be crawling before he outgrows them. There's only a tiny bit of chain, but it could concievably get snagged on something.

SKULL AND CROSSBONES ONESIE Pros: Good price, low shipping. Cons: Compared to the other stuff I'm looking at, sort of plain. Won't fit him for a while, and it might not be onesie weather when it does.

Littleoneshoes Soft Sole Baby Kids Shoes Pros: They're baby shoes with skulls on them. BABY SHOES WITH SKULLS ON THEM. Cons: The seller is in Canada.

Gothic Skull Bib Pros: Freaking adorable. Will be practical once he's on solids. Con: They won't be able to take him out wearing it, so it won't get shown off much.

Crawler Covers Baby Toddler Leg Warmers Pros: Will be awesome once he starts crawling. Might extent the practical wearability of onesies a little later in the year. Cons: They might just slip off of him all the time.

Swashbluckling Skull fleece baby/toddler/children's hat Pros: Really, how long can you get away with dressing your kid up in one of these? Noelle thinks it's adorable. COns: Not even remotely practical.

Skully Bandana/Red Shoesies Pros: Once more: BABY SHOES WITH SKULLS. Cons: I thought the other ones were a little cuter, although these cost less and shipping is a lot less.

Black Skull and Crossbones Baby T Shirt"> Pros: I like the distressed look. Cons: By the time it fits him, it might not be warm enough.

The Young Ones - Onesie Pros: It's a goddamn Young Ones onesie! Cons: Not sure if Jimi or Noelle are Young Ones fans (gasp!). Shipping cost seems inflated.

Level 1 Human Baby Creeper Pros: Jimi plays WoW. Cons: Noelle doesn't. Plus it's pricier than most of the ones I've been looking at.

So, what do you guys think? How shall I snazz up Little Man's wardrobe?

I've been up for over 24 hours. I've taken 60mg of Valium (don't be concerned by that dose, anyone, I've been on benzos for ten years and have a decent tolerance) and I am still awake. I am no little bit WTFing. But, hey. I'm browsing eBay for punk/goth baby clothes (I got outbid on the mot darling little shoes with skulls on the toes and a skull pattern on the soles) and cute chain wallets (I am getting Noelle a chain wallet for a birthday present, and we are going to find the Just Right One For Her).

I'll probably try an i-Doser to put me out soon, but I'm trying to get hold of Noelle to ask if she or Jimi likes The Clash (I saw a cute Clash onesie).

Flogging Molly Onesie!

I am kind of thinking that Nathaniel needs a giftie from his Auntie Lanta, but it's a bit steep pricewise.

Staying up all night with Noelle (and Jimi, in this case, since he had the night off) is a lot of fun. Noelle and I click on a lot of levels. Jimi and I are starting to click on some other levels (mainly geeky ones). As for the baby, well, this is how I explained it to Noelle. Kids are like dogs. Well-behaved dogs can be awesome. I'm not a dog person, I don't automatically go "oooo" over every dog I see, but some are damn cute and I can certainly have fun playing with a friend's dog without wanting my own puppy. A measure of Noelle's awesome is that she got and liked the analogy. And I held the baby for a bit. It was neat holding a peacefully sleeping infant.

Valium and sleep now.

Still at Noelle's. Noelle and Jimi are having a Heavy Discussion so I am in the bedroom, to give them privacy. Hey, got the internet in here, s'all good. 4chan is down so I am browsing 420chan and god damn. I have nothing against recreational pharmaceuticals but some of the posters there are just out of control. There is a thread on the opiates board asking if they could only choose one, sex or opiates, for the rest of their lives which would they choose, and only one person chose sex.

Is it any wonder that heroin is on the list of things I would never, ever try?

It worked out! I got my barbecue fix, and was able to treat Noelle instead of wasting the money on delivery fees. Plus it was Rudy's, which has this creamed corn that is flat out godly. I mean, this creamed corn is heavenly. The baby got a little of the creamy part to lick off of Noelle's finger. It was sort of like that YouTube video of a cat eating corn. Only it was a baby and a finger.

I'm over here keeping her company right now, knocking back Wild Cherry Pepsi because I missed my afternoon nap. Cleaning is being done.

This is one of their "Premium" doses.

( Hand of God )

One that's supposed to affect mood, rather than emulate a drug.

( AntiSad )

I want barbecue so much. I'm debating delivery, but it would probably make more sense to see if I could get Noelle to take me and spend what I would have spent on delivery charges on treating her to some.

Mmmm, Rudy's creamed corn...

I love my new body pillow. As I told hcolleen, it's like hugging someone who doesn't have any bones.

Ahhhhh, my jellyfish lovah!